


A Break

by rebel_wren



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Lightsabers, Romantic Fluff, Training, takes place during season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-02 00:07:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16775671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebel_wren/pseuds/rebel_wren
Summary: Kanan is trying to meditate, but he can't when he feels Hera's stress. He takes it upon himself to relieve her stress and practice for when he starts training Ezra with a lightsaber.





	A Break

Kanan let out a deep breath, fidgeting slightly. His eyes were closed, and he focused on the Force all around him. Zeb had taken Chopper and the kids out to Old Jho’s, so the ship was quiet, and Kanan was using it as a chance to meditate.

Well, trying to. Hera was in the cockpit, but whatever she was working on was stressing her out, and he could feel her tenseness through the Force. And ever so slowly, he could feel it making him tense too.

He let out another deep breath, and willed himself to put it out of his head. To just focus on the Force, to let it calm him, center him, and-

“ _ Kriff! _ ” Her voice was muffled all the way from the cockpit, but Kanan heard it nonetheless. Even if he hadn’t, the loud metal  _ clang  _ that followed it definitely caught his attention. Kanan groaned, standing up and walking out of his room, towards the cockpit.

“Hera? You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

He pressed the button to open the cockpit door, where Hera was picking up the tool she’d dropped. Now that she was right in front of him, he knew that he wouldn’t need the Force to see that she was stressed. Her shoulders were stiff, and her eyes had that determined yet exhausted focus she usually only had in a long fight. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.

“What happened?”

“Shocked myself.”

Kanan raised an eyebrow, amused. “ _ You _ shocked yourself while working on the ship?”

Hera rolled her eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t have to be working on it at all if someone hadn’t led a squad of stormtroopers straight to the ship yesterday.”

“It’s always my fault, isn’t it? Here, let me help.”

“I’ve got it,” Hera snapped, shaking her head. Wrench in hand, she moved back to crouch in front of the panel on the side of the cockpit, and went back to work. Kanan watched her for a moment as she placed the wrench’s head around the bolt she was trying to loosen, and then saw her pull, but struggle to turn it. She grunted from the effort as she put all of her weight into trying to move it, and Kanan shook his head.

“Hera.”

“What?”

“You’re turning it the wrong way.”

Hera paused, looking over the wrench and bolt, before sighing, and the sigh seemed almost heartbroken over such a small thing. Kanan could feel his own expression soften as he moved to sit beside her, putting a comforting hand on her back.

“What’s up with you?” he asked.

“Nothing’s ‘up’ with me,” Hera said. “I’m fine.”

“You’re stressed.”

“What else is new?”

Kanan shook his head, knowing not to push her for information, and started to massage her shoulders gently. “You should take a break,” he said. “It’ll still be broken when you get back.”

She was starting to lean into him some. “A break?”

“Yeah,” Kanan said, feeling himself starting to work a plan out as he spoke. “Ezra just built that lightsaber.”

Hera turned around to face him, tilting her head. Confusion was so clearly written all over her face. “What?”

Kanan grinned at her. “Well, I’m going to be training him how to use it soon. So maybe I’ll practice teaching with you.”

“Kanan, I’m not a Jedi. I can’t use the Force.”

“You don’t need to. Just… think of it as a regular blade.”

“It’s a  _ lightsaber _ .”

“I know,” he said, taking Hera’s hands and pulling her to her feet. “And you’ll be great with it.”

Hera looked at him skeptically, and Kanan just offered her a smile. She searched his face, thinking about his offer for a moment, before letting out a small chuckle.

“Alright,” she said, laughing again when Kanan’s grin widened in celebration. “But not for too long, because I do have to fix this eventually.”

She motioned towards the panel and he nodded. Then, before he even realized it, he was already halfway towards Ezra’s room, excitedly going to find the lightsaber for Hera to borrow.

* * *

“See? You’ve got it!”

Hera shook her head, laughing. The tension she’d been holding in her shoulders was completely relaxed now, and her eyes were much more bright and alive.

“It took me long enough,” she said.

Kanan smiled at her. “I never said it was easy. Now do it again.”

He watched Hera take a deep breath, and put herself into the ready stance, just like he’d taught her. She took a step, swinging the blade down and cutting through the air. Another step, and she blocked an imaginary attack before going in for another one of her own, and then blocking again. She shut the saber off and looked at him expectantly. Kanan nodded.

“Perfect! Now let’s try something more… intense.”

Kanan removed his own lightsaber from his belt, and Hera raised an eyebrow.

“Intense?”

“Trust me,” Kanan said, extending an arm out and pulling Ezra’s lightsaber from her hand with the Force. Hera let out a startled gasp when he did, and then groaned.

“Show-off.”

Kanan laughed as he set both lightsabers to training mode, and then tossed Ezra’s back to Hera. She caught it, eyeing him suspiciously.

“What did you do?”

“Set it to training mode. So if we hit each other, it’ll just leave a bruise instead of slicing us open.”

“Oh. Great.”

Kanan ignited his lightsaber, the blade a lighter blue than usual. Hera mirrored him, and then took the ready stance. Kanan grinned proudly.

“And I didn’t even have to tell you.”

Hera rolled her eyes, but he could still see her smile. Kanan positioned himself too, and then raised his eyebrows.

“You ready?”

“Whenever you are, love.”

“I’ll make the first move. Be ready to block.”

Hera nodded, slightly adjusting her grip on Ezra’s lightsaber. Kanan took a breath, and then attacked. He started with a swing over his head, which Hera blocked easily. A swipe to her legs was parried, and then Hera thrusted her blade towards him. Kanan blocked that, twisting his arm to then try and catch her side, but was prepared to stop his blade if it got too close to her. It may have just been a training blade, but Kanan definitely didn’t want to hurt Hera.

Hera blocked the attack to his side, and then caught Kanan of guard with an attack towards his arm. He could feel the blade brush lightly against his shoulder, but he blocked it before she could really hit him hard. Their blades clashed and locked, and Hera raised an eyebrow, the blue glow on her face.

“Did I get you?”

He smirked. “Just a bit. Not a bad move.”

He saw pride in Hera’s face the second before she broke away from Kanan, slashing at his legs. Kanan blocked, and then swiped his blade towards her chest. Hera blocked, and seeing an opening, years of training seemed to take over Kanan’s body. He kicked her legs out from under her, sending her on to the ground. She stared up at him, eyes wide, but Kanan’s blade was already at her throat.

“Wow,” Hera said, laughing. “Guess I’ve got a lot to learn.”

Kanan shut his lightsaber off, and knelt beside her. “Sorry,” he said guiltily. “Didn’t mean to, it was just-”

“Your instincts, I know,” Hera said, smiling at him. He nodded, and she cupped his cheek with her hand, running a thumb over his cheekbone before drawing him in for a kiss. When she pulled away, he smiled, a little sheepishly.

“I can’t complain, honestly,” Hera admitted. “Those instincts have saved my life more times than I could probably count.”

Hera picked up Ezra’s lightsaber, and stood up, Kanan following her. She handed him the saber, and her fingers brushed his as Kanan took ir. He clipped his own lightsaber to his belt and looked out towards the sun, which was just starting to set.

“We should probably head inside. I’ll call Zeb and ask him when he’s bringing everyone home.”

Hera nodded in agreement, still smiling at him. “I’ve still got those repairs to do.”

She let out a sigh, her gaze lingering on him for a moment more before she headed towards the  _ Ghost _ . Kanan watched her walk for a moment, before looking down to Ezra’s lightsaber in his hand.

“Kanan?”

He looked up to see Hera halfway up the ramp.

“I’m coming!”

He jogged to catch up with her, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to be a great teacher, you know. Ezra’s lucky to have you.”

Kanan felt his heart swell, and he looked at her with nothing but softness. “Thank you.”

She nodded, her eyes crinkling just slightly as she smiled warmly at him. “I am too, you know. I had a lot of fun,” she said. “And I think I needed that break.”

Kanan could feel the corners of his mouth turning up without his permission.

“Anytime.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this story! It's an idea I've been bouncing around for a while, and I got bored today and decided to write a short little fic of it.


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